After their latest gut-wrenching postseason loss, the Bills made the eye-opening decision to fire longtime head coach Sean McDermott on Monday. McDermott spent his entire nine-year tenure in Buffalo alongside general manager Brandon Beane, but they’re not walking out the door together. Rather, the Bills promoted Beane to president of football operations/GM on Monday.
As part of a lengthy statement, owner Terry Pegula announced: “Brandon will oversee all facets of our football operation, including the oversight of our coaching staff. I have full faith in and have witnessed Brandon’s outstanding leadership style and have confidence in his abilities to lead our organization.”
Beane will lead the search for McDermott’s successor, though Pegula and president of business operations Pete Guelli will also have input. The Bills’ next head coach will report to Beane. McDermott, on the other hand, reported to Pegula.
This will be the first head coaching hire of Beane’s career. The former Panthers executive took over as the Bills’ GM in May 2017, four months after McDermott joined the organization. The two were familiar with one another after teaming up in Carolina, where McDermott was the defensive coordinator for six years before Buffalo picked him as its sideline leader.
In the first season of the McDermott-Beane era, the Bills unexpectedly finished 9-7 with Tyrod Taylor under center and snapped a 17-year playoff drought. That was the first in a long line of successful seasons for the two.
Before McDermott’s firing, he was at the helm for seven straight seasons of 10-plus wins. The Bills have posted a 98-50 regular-season record with eight playoff berths and five AFC East titles since 2017. However, an inability to get over the hump in the playoffs and capitalize on the presence of superstar quarterback Josh Allen, whom Beane traded up for and drafted seventh overall in 2018, led to McDermott’s ouster.
Allen has generally thrived in the playoffs, but he and the Bills didn’t get past the AFC Championship Game under McDermott. They lost each of their AFC title game appearances to the Chiefs (2020 and ’24). While the Bills won 12 regular-season games in 2025 and beat the Jaguars in the wild-card round to secure McDermott’s eighth playoff victory, their season concluded with a 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos in the divisional round.
Although McDermott never guided the Bills to the Super Bowl, there’s a strong argument Beane didn’t provide the coach enough talent. An inability to land difference-makers in the draft has been an issue. As Benjamin Solak of ESPN notes, in 56 picks since cashing in big with the Allen choice, Beane has drafted just two players who have gone to the Pro Bowl (running back James Cook and tight end Dawson Knox).
Cook and Knox were important parts of another productive Bills offense in 2025, but Beane’s failure to find a high-end receiver since cutting ties with Stefon Diggs in 2024 continued weighing the team down this season. While the Bills were connected to names such as Jaylen Waddle, Jakobi Meyers and Rashid Shaheed before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, Beane didn’t pull off any deals.
After striking out at the deadline, Beane wound up signing well-traveled wideout Brandin Cooks, whom the Saints released, three weeks later. Cooks made a clutch 36-yard grab on a game-winning drive in Jacksonville, but an inability to secure a deep pass against the Broncos in overtime played a major role in the Bills’ loss. A bang-bang play was ruled an interception for Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, who wrestled the ball from Cooks and prevented the Bills from potentially setting up for the game-winning field goal.
Had the controversial Cooks play been ruled a catch, there’s a good chance McDermott would be preparing for the third AFC title game of his coaching career. He’s out of a job just two days later, though, leaving Beane to search for a worthy successor.
Lmao!!
Promotion for assembling all that wr talent…oh wait.
What about that DB talent…oh wait a cb in 30s that had acl and Achilles should not be the starting corner. Power was retired too.
First thing they’re going to do is trade for a big name WR.
AJ Brown the only wr that would come to mind. I guess they can get Aiyuk for cheap because he refused to play and coming off injury. Possibly beg Mike Evans who is a FA to not retire and go to cold ass Buffalo.
With Shakir and the tight ends (pray Kincaid stays healthy), they really are a stud WR and some cheaper options to fill out the room away from being an unstoppable offense. They are as close as it gets already to unstoppable.
The defense does need a complete revamping. That’s where all the change is needed. Gone should be Milano, poyer, rapp, Jones, Bosa, Epenessa, Hamlin, Dorian, maybe Bernard, maybe White.
I don’t want AJ. Too expensive, getting too old. Unless he comes for only a couple third rounders, maybe a second.
He must have dirt on the bills
Seriously. Only Beane and weather forecasters can be consistently bad and keep their job, let alone get a promotion.
He better nail this head coach pick. He’s on the hottest hot seat now. What do you want to bet they trade for Justin Jefferson this offseason?
Probably not the way they are running it…can’t wait to see the next debacle he comes up with!
Slim to none chance they trade for Jefferson. They’re not a JJ away from competing. They can sign a few free agents with that salary and draft a couple guys with picks they’d send to Minnesota
I see them letting Palmer go
Signing Shaheed Signing Naylor
Drafting Brazzell and drafting Saratt or Cooper Jr out of Indiana
They retain Cooks as a veteran presence but I see them just retooling the wr room
Getting rid of Palmer generates more dead cap than dumping him is worth
Talk about giving a guy enough rope.
Falling up anyone?
To the low IQ Bills fans. The statement clears up with what most intelligent Bills fans have known for years. McDermott was the decision maker. And it’s clear that Waddle or any other true #1 WR Was not acquired b/c McDermott wouldn’t sign off. And McD hedged his bets by taking shots at Beane over the last few weeks. And then for the 6th straight season his defense lost the game. Average of 33 points in each of the last 6 Playoff losses. Beane now has his chance to continue to add to the talent he has. Benford, Walker (STUD), Bishop, Rousseau (better scheme/coaching might unlock a little bit more). But most importantly Beane has to HAS TO nail the next defensive scheme whether by HC or DC. That is #1, most important followed by WR & MLB. The handcuffs are finally off. He has a real chance to shed a ton of cap space while keeping most of the young important talent together. But as we saw with the other 3 Divisional games DEFENSE is CRUCIAL. Not one losing team scored more than 17. Bills scored 30. No excuses BBB LFG!!!
Was he though? – cause as us “low IQ” fans know, there was friction between the two.
Some comments Sean made through this year might tell you a different story.
Seans gonna go to Baltimore and win one.
Everyone has the right to be stupid but you just abused that privilege
Sorry – I should stay out if your lane my man,
Apologies.
Carry on!
This is the end of an era – and sadly, our window.
So you fire the coach who pulled you of decades of mediocrity and has the highest winning percentage over the past six years and promote the mediocre GM who never gave him enough tools to win it all.
Makes perfect sense!